Mental Health is one of the most prevalent topics and issues that are being addressed in a post-covid job market. As a recruiter, it’s important to find out how you can facilitate a positive change and as a result, positively impact the lives of your candidates.
In this article, we’ll look at how you can support and manage your candidate’s mental health throughout the hiring process.
Educate Yourself about Mental Health Issues
Education and training on the topic are essential in order to be able empathise with your candidates and understand their situation. Make sure to research and find information about common workplace mental health issues such as anxiety depression or panic attacks.
Appropriate training and research will help you identify those issues and educate you on how to react in particular situations.
Reserve Your Judgement
If your candidates are open with you about their mental health problems, reserve your judgement and consider them for the role based on their experience and abilities rather than focus on their shortcomings. Many candidates suffer from anxiety and your understanding might just be enough help for them to be motivated and perform well.
Consider What Kind of Roles Would Be Suitable
Certain candidates with specific mental health issues might not be suitable for high-stress role. Always consider if the work environment and the atmosphere is suitable for someone’s mental health status. Otherwise, you’ll risk making their problems worse and as a result, lose productivity or your new hire.
Whilst it’s not mandatory for candidates to disclose their mental health conditions and not legal for the employers to ask, you can ask specific questions related to the ability of the candidate to do the job. This will allow you to initially assess whether a specific role is compatible with your candidate.
Offer Constant Support
Employers have a ‘duty of care’ which means that you must do all you reasonably can to support your employee’s mental health and well being.
It’s important to have some form of mental health support within your company and regular training in order to avoid discrimination towards struggling persons, be able to identify their issues and address these issues effectively.
This might include appointing a ‘mental health champion’ that your staff is free to speak to or partnering with a company that provides professional counseling. Remember to always treat mental health issues on par with physical disability and make reasonable adjustments for specific situations in order to improve your employee’s well-being. It will not only improve their lives, but also retain your staff and reduce recruitment costs for your business.
Be Human
Remember to always communicate with your potential hires and make them included if they’ll choose to disclose their conditions to you. After all, we’re all human and empathy might be the key for their condition to diminish. At the end, you might gain an invaluable member of a company.
